I AM the Light of the World

Introduction

Today is March 8, 2020 Anno Domini (or the Year of Our Lord), the second Sunday in Lent.  We celebrate today because Jesus, the Christ, whom the religious leaders and Roman authorities crucified nearly 2,000 years ago, rose from the grave on the Third Day.  We mark the passing of time through history by his life, death, and resurrection.

Through the centuries, people have debated the identity of this man.  Some have claimed he was only a fictional character; yet the evidence is clear, Jesus was a real man who lived in real time and space.  Some say he was a revolutionary who was killed for stirring up revolt in a volatile region of the Roman Empire.  Some say Jesus as a religious leader fighting for social justice among the poor and oppressed. Others say he was a prophet or a rabbi.  But if we really want to know who Jesus is, perhaps we should look to his own testimony.  Jesus told us who he is, in his own words, through seven famous statements we call the “I AM” statements.

1. I AM the bread of life 

2. I AM the light of the world
3. I AM the door
4. I AM the true vine
5. I AM the good shepherd
6. I AM the resurrection and the life
7. I AM the way, the truth, and the life

Last week we learned that I AM is the proper name of God.  When God revealed Himself to Moses through the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3, He told Moses His name.  He said, “Tell them ‘I AM’ has sent you.”  And He said, “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”

So the very first thing we see about Jesus is he claimed to be God.  Every time Jesus said, “I AM”, the people around him gasped.  “Did he just say that?”  Saying God’s name out loud (or even writing it) was a social taboo.  Claiming to be God could get you stoned.  And just in case you thing I’m making more of this phrase I AM, all you have to do is look at John 8:58-59, which says:

John 8:58-59

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Jesus claimed he was God.  He says it plainly John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”  But today, we consider the second I AM statement of Jesus from John 8:12. 

John 8:12

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Being Judged

This simple two sentence statement is nestled between two incredible stories that show Jesus’ character.  And it reveals how Jesus identity and very existence infuriate his enemies.  The first story is a very famous one—John 8:1-11. 

In summary, the Pharisees and religious leaders catch a women red handed in adultery.  The drag her, still naked, into the town square where Jesus is teaching the people.  They throw her before him and ask, "What should we do?  The law of Moses says to stone her.  What do you say?"  This is such an act of evil.  These men don't care one thing about right or wrong, or about God's Law.  Where is the man who was also committing adultery?  (You do realize it takes two people to commit adultery, right?) Only the woman is indited.  All these "religious leaders" care about is discrediting Jesus and they are even willing to sacrifice a woman's life to do it!  And they think this will do it.  They've got him.  If he says, "Stone her," then the crowds will be appalled.  If he sets her free, it will be a direct violation of the the Bible's clear teaching.  There seems to be no way out for Jesus.

Jesus' response embodies perfectly both Truth & Love.  The first thing he does is stoop down and start writing in the dirt.  The Bible doesn't say what he was writing.  Some have speculated that, maybe, he was writing out all the sins of the various people in the crowd.  I kind of like that idea.  Then Jesus stands back up and says, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone."  And one by one every begins to drop their stones and walk away.  At last, in John 8:10-11, Jesus says, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

And the next time Jesus spoke to the people is in John 8:12 where he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I’ll get to the second story in a minute, but first I must say how much this statement Jesus said irked the Pharisees. They were like, “You can’t say that!  You can't claim to be God.  You can't say all these things about yourself without any proof or someone else to backup your testimony.” They were already frustrated that Jesus so perfectly thwarted their attempt to trap him with the woman caught in adultery.  

And so the religious leaders argue with Jesus and he plainly tells them they are enslaved by sin.  The reason they won't accept him is that sin rules their hearts.  John 8:34-38 - ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

Jesus knew that Abraham would have accepted Jesus because Abraham's greatest desire was to trust and follow God.  And now God was standing before the religious leaders and the religious leaders hated Jesus.  They rejected him and would not accept him no matter what he did.  They would not be convinced no matter what anyone said or did.  Even if Abraham were there to testify on behalf of Jesus.  The religious leaders were stuck stumbling in darkness.  They were slaves to sin.  And they refused to be rescued.  They said, “You have no proof!  Your testimony isn’t valid!”

And that brings me to the second story.  It’s from the very next chapter in the Gospel of John.  In John 9, Jesus and the disciples are walking along and come across a man who was born blind.  The disciples ask, "Was this man born blind because of his parent's sin or his own sin."  And Jesus say, "Neither; it was so God could be glorified."  And then Jesus heals the man and he can see and he goes off to glorify God.  And the Blind man (now the seeing man) runs into the religious leaders and they ask him how is it that he can see.  They have a dilemma. If Jesus healed the man, then it is proof Jesus is who he says he is.  So they're thinking, "It looks like the man we know of that was born blind, but he must be someone else."  So they ask him and he confirms, "Yes, I was born blind, but then Jesus healed me."  But the religious leaders don't want to believe him, so they ask his parents.  And the blind man's parents are afraid what will happen to them so they just say, "Yes, this is our son and he was born blind, but we don't know how he came to be able to see again."  So the religious leaders ask the blind man again, "Come on man, give glory to God.  Tell the truth.  How did you really get your sight back."  And the blind man confirms again, "I was blind and Jesus healed me.  Do you want to follow him too?"

Now, here is clear, incontrovertible evidence.  This miracle is impossible to fake and it has been verified by two independent sources, but the Pharisees and religious leaders still reject it.  They berate the man and tell him he is a sinner and Jesus is a sinner and they have no idea where Jesus came from.  And I love the blind man's answer in John 9:30 – "The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.""  Clearly, if Jesus can do such a miracle, everyone ought to see that Jesus is very special.  But the religious leaders can't or won't see it.  The blind man sees, but the religious leaders are blind.

True Light in a Dark World

Jesus, the Light of the World, not only helps us see, but also reveals the real motives of people. The Pharisees didn't want to accept Jesus no matter what. The miracle was obvious, impossible to fake.  But the Pharisees would not accept it because it didn’t fit their selfish agenda. Sinful people are always like the Pharisees who try to manipulate the truth and make it say what they want based on their own twisted agendas. But Jesus is who he is. He is the great I AM.

And those who follow Jesus, never have to walk in darkness.  He shows the way.  It takes some time to tune your heart to see His light, but with practice and the help of His Holy Spirit, we can see and follow the light of His love.

Let me share three ways to help you walk in the light.  First, you must pray.  Talk to God and also listen through prayer.  Learn to tune your heart to feel the way you tune your ears to hear and eyes to see.  Have you ever thought you heard a faint sound and you had to strain your ears to hear?  Have you ever tried to read something that was obscured or very small and you had to strain your eyes to see it?  How many of us practice straining our heart to feel God's guidance?  We can practice that through prayer and God will lead us.

Second, read Scripture.  The Bible is God's Word.  Treasure God’s Word in your heart.  Read it.  Study it.  Meditate on it and soak it in.  Absorb the Bible into your heart so that it guides everything you do.  That way when you pray, it will bubble up to the surface as God speaks to you.

One more thing--serve.  It's not enough to pray and read the Bible; you must also put your faith into action.  The religious leaders prayed and knew the Bible, but they weren't willing to serve the way God wanted them to.  They were more concerned about their own position and power and agendas.  We must have faith in God and willingly set aside our own agendas and obey what God wants.  We must act on what we've learned through prayer and Scripture.  We musty serve.

In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world."  Jesus also talked about light in the Gospel of Matthew.  It's very interesting that in Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”  He was saying that we should let our good deeds shine before people so that God receives the glory.  We're not bragging or trying to make ourselves look good.  We're glorifying God because the light inside us is not ours.  It's Christ's light.  Jesus is the Light of the world, but when we trust him and follow him, his light lives inside us.  And then we obey and serve and his light shines forth from us for all to see and they are amazed.

Is Jesus in you?

In order for the Light to shine, Jesus has to your Lord.  Is Jesus your Lord?  Are you like the Pharisees and religious leaders who walked in darkness because they had to protect their turf adn their way of life?  Are you like the like the woman caught in adultery, whom Jesus refused to condemn?  Instead, he told her to leave her life of sin.  Or are you like the blind man, whom Jesus healed so he could see clearly and he decided to follow Jesus?  I pray you will decide to follow Jesus today.

#1 The Tale of Tamar

Introduction
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2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

All Scripture is inspired by God.  Even the parts we tend to skip like the genealogies or the weird and disturbing stories in the Old Testament.  In this blog, I'm going to focus on a couple of those passages people tend to skip over.  I'm not going to skip these passages today, because they are inspired by God and they have much to teach us if we listen closely.

The first passage is Matthew 1:1-16.  Click here if you'd rather listen to a music video of the passage than read it.

Matthew 1:1-16

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham[a]:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.

Isaac was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).

Perez was the father of Hezron.

Hezron was the father of Ram.[b]

4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.

Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.

Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).

Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).

Obed was the father of Jesse.

6 Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).

7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.

Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.

Abijah was the father of Asa.[c]

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.[d]

Jehoram was the father[e] of Uzziah.

9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.

Jotham was the father of Ahaz.

Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.

10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.

Manasseh was the father of Amon.[f]

Amon was the father of Josiah.

11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin[g] and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).

12 After the Babylonian exile:

Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.

Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.

Abiud was the father of Eliakim.

Eliakim was the father of Azor.

14 Azor was the father of Zadok.

Zadok was the father of Akim.

Akim was the father of Eliud.

15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.

Eleazar was the father of Matthan.

Matthan was the father of Jacob.

16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

5 Christmas Maidens

Do you keep up with your own genealogy?  Some people are fascinated by their own ancestry.  There are even shows on television now where experts trace the ancestry of famous celebrities.  We tend to skip over the genealogy of Christ, though, the most famous person who ever lived.  And if you skip over Christ’s inspired genealogy, you will miss some important facts.  

Like this:  There are 40 men listed in Jesus genealogy, which makes sense because Jewish genealogies from the first century listed lineage through the male ancestors.  The people the Bible records were a mostly a male dominated, patriarchal culture.  You don’t have to like it.  God didn’t, but it is the reality and you must understand the role of patriarchy in the biblical text or you might miss some very important clues, like this:  There are 40 men listed in Jesus’ genealogy and only 5 women. 

But the fact that there are 5 women listed in a genealogy written in a male dominated, patriarchal society is huge!  Why did the men who kept track of all this stuff and write it down even care about these 5 women—the 5 Christmas maidens?   You might think they are some pretty special women who really deserved the recognition.  They are special, but maybe not in the way you think.  Their stories may challenge your preconceived notions of holiness.

Apparently, God inspired the writer of Matthew 1:1-16 to record the names of these 5 women, without whom Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lord and Savior of all would not have been born into the world that first Christmas day.  So, between now and Christmas, we are going to hear the stories of each of these 5 Christmas maidens between now and Christmas.

Tamar

The first Christmas maiden is Tamar and her tale comes from Genesis 38.  Tamar was a Canaanite woman.  The Canaanites—as a whole—were evil in God’s site.  They were evil because they had twisted religion so much that it had nothing to do with the One True God who made them anymore.  Canaanite religion was a way to make God into their own image through idolatry.  They worshiped through sexual orgies in order to arouse their gods so they would do favors for them.  They even hired temple prostitutes to have sex with the worshipers.  (I’m not making this stuff up. This was the Canaanite religion.)  Furthermore, the Canaanites even sacrificed their own children as part of their wicked religious ceremonies.  God rejected the Canaanites’ wicked religion and determined to drive them out of Canaan and give their land to Abraham’s descendants.  Tamar (the great, great… grandmother of Jesus) was a despised Canaanite.  (If you ever feel like there’s no hope for you, remember Tamar.)

The name Tamar means date palm.  The date palm is a tree in Israel that produces a most amazing fruit called a date that is dried to make something like a raisin, but a raisin the size of your thumb!  You can buy dates at Kroger, but they don’t even come close to the amazing Medjool dates you get in Israel, their native land.  I have been to Israel and enjoyed the dates their near Jericho and they are to die for.  Tamar means date.  And apparently, Tamar was to die for too.  Her story is found in Genesis 38.

Genesis 38:6-10

⁶ In the course of time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar. ⁷ But Er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord took his life. ⁸ Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”

⁹ But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground. This prevented her from having a child who would belong to his brother. ¹⁰ But the Lord considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the Lord took Onan’s life, too.

Levirate Marriage and Wickedness

Now here’s a weird passage (and a bit gross and explicit).  It’s no wonder you don’t hear this story that much in church.  But, it is part of the God’s inspired story of the redemption of all humanity so we’re not going to skip it today.  What’s going on here?

The ancient Israelites had a custom called Levirate marriage.  It seems strange to us, but it had an important purpose for them.  The people of the Old Testament lived in a patriarchal society.  Men dominated everything.  Women had very little status and no way to provide for or protect themselves without the men in their lives.  I don't think that's the way God intended life to be, but sin was part of the world and that's the way people lived.  Thankfully, we have grown to a place in the 21st century in America, where women are finally getting the respect they are due because women are equal with men and should be treated fairly.  But 4,000 years ago when Tamar lived in the middle east, women were not treated equally.  When they were young, their father protected and cared for them.  When they were married, their husband protected and cared for them.  When they were old, their grown male children protected and cared for them.  So it was devastating if a wife's husband died and she had no grown male children to care for her.  Levirate marriage provided for widows.  When Tamar's husband died, she became their dead brother's responsibility to protect and care for her.

Levirate marriage addressed another pressing problem for the Bible's patriarchal society.  The greatest curse for ancient Israelites was for your family name to die out.  Therefore, if a wife's husband died before he was able to produce a male child to carry on the family name, the dead husband's brother was obligated to produce a male child with his wife for him.  I know that seems really weird to us today, but that was very important to the ancient Israelites like Judah's family.  And it may not be as far fetched as you think.  Today, if a husband and wife can't conceive a child, they might go to a fertility clinic and pursue artificial insemination.  Levirate marriage was the way the ancients solved the problem long before fertility clinics were available.

Unfortunately, Judah and his sons were wicked. Judah’s first son, Ere, married Tamar, “But Er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord took his life.” We don’t know why Er was wicked; the passage doesn't say. You might infer one reason though. This is reading into the text a bit, but maybe Er was more interested in the "tasty date" Tamar than he was in the Lord's plan for the Israelites.  You see, the Israelites were the people God chose to represent God to the whole world.  As such, they were to reject all other gods and false religions, like that of the Canaanites.  But Er seems to be more interested in tasty Tamar than the religion of the One True God.  Whatever the reason, Er was so wicked to God that he died. 

So, levirate marriage kicks in.  Er’s brother, Onan, is supposed to take Tamar as his own wife, protect her, care for her, and it was Onan's absolute obligation to make sure Tamar got pregnant and produced an heir to carry on his dead brother's name.  Now Onan, being a man, was perfectly willng to enjoy “pleasure” with Tamar, but he refused to produce children.  Sexual pleasure is great but children are a costly responsibility Onan didn't want, even though it was the law of his own people.  Verse 10 says, “the Lord considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the Lord took Onan’s life, too.”

Genesis 38:11

¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Go back to your parents’ home and remain a widow until my son Shelah is old enough to marry you.” (But Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her father’s home.

Used, Abused, and Forgotten

Tamar has now been used, abused, and forgotten.  Have you ever felt used, abused and forgotten?

Judah has a responsibility.  As the patriarch of the family, it is his responsibility to take care of everyone in his household; and this includes Tamar.  If his third son is too young to marry, then it is Judah's duty to take care of his daughter-in-law himself or until his youngest son is grown enough to do it.  Judah has no intention of doing the right thing.  His first two sons died because they were both wicked, but all Judah can think is it was Tamar fault.  Instead of seeing his son’s wickedness, send Tamar away.

God holds each of us accountable for our own sins.  It isn’t your lineage that makes you righteous or gains you favor in God’s eyes.  It is those who repent of their sins and turn to God through Jesus Christ His Son who enjoy the Lord’s favor.  In Tamar's story, we see taht Tamar hasn’t done anything wrong even though she is a Canaanite.  It is Judah and his sons--who are supposed to be God's chosen people--who are doing all the evil!  

Genesis 38:12-19

¹² Some years later Judah’s wife died. After the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep. ¹³ Someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

¹⁴ Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but no arrangements had been made for her to come and marry him. [Judah has no intentions of doing the right thing for Tamar.]

So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. ¹⁵ Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face. 

[Now notice, it doesn’t say Tamar dressed up like a prostitute.  It says Judah thought she was a prostitute.  What does that tell you was on Judah's mind?  It seems to me, Judah is not acting or thinking the way God wants His chosen people to act.]

¹⁶ So he stopped and propositioned her. “Let me have sex with you,” he said, not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law.

“How much will you pay to have sex with me?” Tamar asked.

[Tamar is a smart woman.  She plays along to see where it might get her.  Tamar recognizes God’s purposes in Judah’s family.  Even though Judah’s family was not living the way they should, they were still the family God chose for His great plan to save the world.  Somehow, Tamar sensed God’s hand at work in Judah’s people--despite their wickedness--and she was determined to be part of it.  Are you determined to be part of God’s family even if His children—the people you see in Church on Sunday—don’t always live they way they should.  Can you recognize that God has a plan for everyone and that God is saving the whole world, even through a broken church?]

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah promised.

“But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?” she asked.

¹⁸ “What kind of guarantee do you want?” he replied.

She answered, “Leave me your identification seal and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave them to her. Then he had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. ¹⁹ Afterward she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.

Genesis 38:24-26

²⁴ About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute. And now, because of this, she’s pregnant.”

“Bring her out, and let her be burned!” Judah demanded. 

[This was the typical punishment.  It's definitely a double standard.  Men were obviously getting away with all kinds of sexual promiscuity and sleeping with prostitutes, but the women were being burned when they were unfaithful.  I don't think God was happy about it, but that's the broken world Tamar and Judah lived in.]

²⁵ But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these?”  [Busted!]

²⁶ Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She is more righteous than I am, because I didn’t arrange for her to marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never slept with Tamar again.

Closing Points

Tamar's story (and others like it) are one of the major reasons I believe the Bible is the reliable account of God's salvation work throughout history.  If I were going to make up a fictional story of God's people, I definitely would not include all this dirty laundry.  Would you?  The Bible doesn't try to sugar coat anything.  The story of how God saved humanity includes a lot of ugly, embarrassing stuff.  It's just to messy to be made up!  Do you have any skeletons in your family closet? So does Jesus.  

None of the people in Jesus family tree were there because they deserved it. They were only there because of God's grace and their faith to be a part of God's great plan—a plan that they didn’t even fully understand.  They just knew if it was God’s plan, it must be worth more than any thing else in the whole world!  God is looking for people like Tamar--people who have the faith to see that God is at work even when His people are not doing the right thing.  People who are willing to give up everything to be part of God's great Kingdom plan.  Are you willing to give up everything to be part of God’s Kingdom?  Do you have the faith to see it is worth it?

Next week, we will hear the story of Rahab the prostitute.
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Jesus' Questions for You

Introduction
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My hope for this message series was to answer your questions about God and Christianity. 

But so far, I’ve only received on question (and I answered that one a couple weeks ago.

So even though I’ve offered you a chance to write your questions on the tear off in the bulletin and announced it from the pulpit each Sunday (and I’ve also sent out numerous emails and solicited questions on Facebook), I haven’t received any other questions.

But as I prayer about your lack of questions, Jesus laid something else on my heart.  Jesus said, “If they don’t have any questions for you, I’d like to ask them a few questions."  So that’s what I’m gonna do today for the sermon.  Since you haven’t asked any questions, Jesus has some questions for you.  The first question comes from Mark 8:27-29.

Mark 8:27-29

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸ “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”

²⁹ Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

Who Do You Say I Am?

Jesus actually asks his disciples two questions in this passage: “Who do people say I am?”  And “Who do you say I am?”  Jesus asks you the same questions this morning.  Who do people say that I am and who do you say that I am?  These are critical questions.  Your answers will influence everything you do in this life and even eternity.

Almost everyone has some opinion about Jesus.  In America, you would have to live under a rock to have never heard something about Jesus. So, who do people say that Jesus is?  A prophet?  A revolutionary?  A truly gifted religious leader? A fictional character people made up?

Most people, unfortunately, have a very inaccurate idea of Jesus.  Their notion of Jesus is just what they've picked up from popular opinion or myth.  Perhaps they have some vague ideas that he is loving and nurturing or merciful and forgiving, but they aren't necessarily clear of what all this entails.  Unless people read and understand the Bible—both the Old and the New Testaments—they probably only know of the popular image of Jesus, an image that is woefully inadequate.

CS Lewis once wrote that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.  Lewis argued that when people claim Jesus was just a good man, they disregard what he said about himself.  Lewis claims we must listen to what Jesus said about himself in the Gospels.  Jesus claimed to be the Son of God who was going to die on the cross and rise from the dead to save humanity from sin and grant eternal life.  Now if Jesus was just a good man, he was lying when he claimed to be the Son of God, Lord, and Savior.  Furthermore, thousands of people in his day (including his closest friends) died because they believed him.  Therefore, if Jesus was lying, he was anything but a good man.  He was actually evil if he was lying.  Or another option was that he believed his own lies; which means he was a deluded lunatic, not a good man.  The other option left to us is that Jesus was really telling the truth and he is indeed Lord.

What Jesus really cares about is not what other people say about him.  What he really wants to know is: “Who do you say he is?”  That’s what really matters.  You can’t control what other people think and do.  But you can make up your own mind—and you must decide about Jesus.  Who is Jesus to you? 

I’ll tell you who Jesus is to me.  Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah, my Savior!

The second question Jesus asks you today comes from Mark 4:35-40

Mark 4:35-40

³⁵ As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

³⁸ Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

³⁹ When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?

Again, Jesus ask two questions; but this time the two questions are really the same thing asked two different ways.  Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?

Maybe we should cut the disciples a little slack.  We have the benefit of looking back on the story already knowing a lot more about Jesus than the disciples had figured out by the 4^th chapter of Mark.  They were still getting to know Jesus.  We’ve already heard the end of the story.  We’ve heard about all his other miracles—healing the sick, driving out demons, giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, raising the dead, and (most important) rising from the grave himself.  Also understand this: if you’ve been a Christians for more than three years, you’ve been walking with Jesus a lot longer than the disciples did.  Jesus was only on earth with His disciples for three years.  If you’ve been a Christian longer than that, you’ve already got more experience with Jesus than they did. 

And that’s why Jesus wants to ask you the same questions today. 

Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?

Storms come in all our lives.  They may not include wind and rain.  They may include: health problems, financial troubles, losing your job, grief over the death of a loved one.  Sometimes our fears aren’t even brought on by actual events.  More often, we worry about things that haven’t even happened yet, things that might never even happen.  What if my son/daughter gets hurt?  What if I get sick?  What if I never find someone to marry?  What if my marriage doesn’t work out?  What if I lose my job and can’t pay my bills? 

We worry because of sin.  It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made.  For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”  I always thought the reference to "sweat of your brow" was talking about how hard work will be.  But a study of ancient middle eastern phrases shows that when they used the phrase "the sweat of your brow" they were almost always talking about worry and anxiety.  Think about how Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was praying that God would take the cup of suffering from him if it was possible and he was sweating like drops of blood from his brow.  Because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, ancient farmers would always worry that their crops would fail because of drought, or pestilence, or failure to thrive and so they and the people they loved would starve to death.  It was a a very real possibility in an agricultural society.  And though today, in America, few will starve to death because of a crop failure, we still worry that we will lose our jobs or something else terrible will happen.

Worry and anxiety was a curse humanity received because of Adam's sin in the garden.  Praise be to God, Jesus came to set us free from the curse.  That’s why the angels who announced Jesus birth said, “Do not fear!  I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11)  That’s why Jesus could say, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”  (Matthew 6:31-33)

Just a few minutes ago, Jesus asked each of you, “Who do you say I am?”  And many of you affirmed with me, “Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah, my Savior!”  If Jesus is your Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah, your Savior, then:

Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?

If Jesus can calm a storm on the sea of Galilee, if He can rise from the grave, don't you trust Him to take care of you and your problems?

Jesus’ Questions

What has been bothering you lately?

Is Jesus asking you to do something?  (Forgive someone?  Answer a call to do something for Him?  Serve in some way?)

Are you worrying about something that might happen (but probably won’t)?  

Are you struggling with worry and anxiety?

Are you going though a very real and difficult storm in your life?

I want you to set aside your worries and concerns for just a moment and answer Jesus’ questions for you this morning. 

Answer His questions first and then pray about what’s bothering you.

Jesus’ questions for you this morning are:

Who do you say I am?
Why are you afraid? 
Do you still have no faith?

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How Much Faith is Enough?

Introduction
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I'm writing a series of blogs based off your questions.  If you have a question, send me an email to ReverendChrisMullis@hotmail.com.  I will try to answer your questions over the next several weeks.

My question this week came from my church's Facebook page.  "How much faith is enough?"  That’s a great question and Jesus addressed it with his disciples.

Luke 17:3-6

^“3 So watch yourselves!  If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. ⁴ Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

⁶ The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!

Forgiveness is Hard

My younger sister is only two years younger than me. We argued a lot when we were kids--mainly because she was a pesky little brat and I was perfect. (That's sarcastic humor. It's ok to laugh.)  Sometimes when we fought, my mom would make us apologize and forgive each other. Did your parents ever make you do that?  Well, my sister and I knew we had to obey our mom, even if we didn’t want to.  So, we would scrunch up our faces and say threw gritted teeth, “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you.”

The disciples weren’t little kids, but Jesus told them to forgive and they knew it would be hard.  It’s one thing to forgive someone once, but Jesus said forgive them even if they wrong you seven times in one day and ask forgiveness.  (By the way, Jesus was using the number seven as a figure of speech.  He didn’t mean seven was the limit and you didn’t have to forgive a person on the eighth time.  Jesus meant you got to keep on forgiving people for as many times needed.)

The Disciples weren’t sure they had the faith to forgive people like that.  I mean it’s one thing to forgive something petty—like the childish things my sister and I argued about as kids.  However, Jesus didn’t say only forgive people the little things.  We’ve got to forgive them even when the offence is very serious and hurtful.  It takes a lot of faith to forgive like that and the Disciples weren’t sure they had enough faith for forgiveness like that.

Jesus answers their fear by saying it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to make a mulberry tree be uprooted and planted in the sea.  (At another time in Matthew 17:14-21, he was even more dramatic, saying faith the size of a mustard seed could move a whole mountain!)  Which do you think is harder:  moving a mulberry tree, a mountain, or saying “I forgive you?”

It takes faith.

What is Faith?

What is faith?  I really liked what Refroe Watson said in his sermon last Sunday about faith.  He said, “Faith is belief that you’re willing to act upon.  Belief is believing your child can drive.  Faith is being in [the car] while they drive.  That’s what faith is.”

Faith is when your trust exceeds your fear.  One time as a very small child, I climbed up in a tree and when I looked down, I got scared and froze up.  I couldn’t climb down.  Now, I was only three or four years old so I wasn’t really that high up; but for a small, frightened child it seemed way up!  So my Dad came out and grabbed hold of me (I was just barely above his shoulders) and he said, “I’ve got you.”  But I was scared and I was clinging to that tree with a death grip!  When my Dad said, “Let go.  I’ve got you,” I didn't let go.  So he’s trying to pull me off the tree and I’m hanging on with all my might!  It wasn’t until my faith in my Dad’s ability to hold me exceeded my fear of falling out of that tree that I was willing to let go and let him pick me up out of that tree and set my feet safely back on the ground again.

Faith makes you act.  Fear makes you freeze.  When your faith exceeds your fear—even by an amount as tiny as a mustard seed—you can move mountains.  Now unfortunately, some people treat faith as if we’re just supposed to sit back and trust God to do everything for us.  But that’s not what it says.  Faith doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing, waiting for God to do all the mountain moving by Himself.  Faith means we trust God can move that mountain—maybe even through us—and so we figure it out and get it done if that’s what God wants.  We raise some money, hire a construction crew, and we get to work moving that mountain because God told us to and we want to obey and we believe Him when He says it's possible.

How Much Faith is Enough?

So the question today is: “How much faith is enough?”  The short answer is, “Just a tiny bit more faith than your fears.”  When your faith outranks your fear even by the tiniest amount, you move.  You trust.  You act on your trust.  It doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid or you don’t hurt; it only means your faith is stronger than your fear.  And even a little bit is enough to overcome.

Now, if your faith it starts to fade, you might give up.  Some battles we fight take a long time and your faith has to sustain you through the long battle.  So faith needs to be nurtured and grown.  You must fortify your spirit with more and more faith every day.  The battles you face today may be tiny compared to the ones that still lie ahead.  So now is the time to build your faith so it will be stronger than your fears tomorrow.  How do you build it?

5 Ways to Grow Your Faith:

1. Ask God for more faith. God will answer this prayer.
2. Fast and pray. Jesus told his disciples to do this (in so many words) when they lacked the necessary faith to cast a demon out of a child.  Fasting and prayer can increase your faith power.  Fasting doesn’t have to be some super discipline reserved for monks living in a monetary. Try this: Eat dinner tonight, then skip breakfast and lunch tomorrow while drinking lots of water and a few cups of juice,.  Then break your fast by eating dinner tomorrow evening. You will be hungry, but you shouldn’t be overwhelmed with hunger. During your fast, try to focus on praying for more faith. (Note: please don’t attempt this if you are sick or unhealthy or diabetic. Talk to your doctor.) 
3. Read God’s Word. The Bible is full of faith inducing stories of real people who trusted God and experienced His faithfulness.  Reading their experiences can fortify your own faith.  However, we must read the Bible with faith, not cynicism.  Cynicism is like a leech that sucks our faith away.  Reading the Bible with a seed of faith can make the seed take root and flourish.
4. Worship. Devoting time to adore God—especially surrounded by other people in the community of faith—is a powerful faith growing experience.  Their is something contagious about being together in a group to honor God and sing His praises.  Your faith builds up mine and my faith builds up yours as we forget our problems for a moment and focus more on the magnificence of God.
   
5. And finally, act on the faith you have. As we step out in faith, we prove God’s trustworthiness. We start with small steps. As our faith increases, we can trust more and take bigger steps of faith. Faith starts out as a mustard seed, but then it grows into a very large plant.  The mustard plant that grew in Jesus country he said grew so large birds could make nests in its branches.  That's the way with faith.  When we step out and start with the faith we already have, we find our faith begins to grow and grow until it sustains our whole life.

May God give you enough faith to over come your fear.

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